5/25/08 - One of the more well-kept secrets of Chinese cuisine on the island comes from a small restaurant in the Koko Marina Shopping Center in Hawaii Kai, right across the parking lot from Blockbuster. They feature the telephone book-like menus of most Chinese restaurants, but I almost always go for dim sum. The classic images conjured up in our minds of steaming-hot carts busily shuffling through the aisles and the necessity of flagging "vendors" down from clear across the room are over-powering, indeed. However, at this classy little spot, dim sum carts are nowhere to be found.
Here, the delectable dumplings are made to order, nullifying any chance of it drying out on the carts. If you think about it, those carts are pumping out steam to keep everything warm. Sometimes there are several stacks of 10 or more high, and you have no idea how long they have been left cooking there.
Judging by how busy some of the major dim sum houses are during peak hours, I can understand why they need to pre-make so many of them, and c'mon now, there is a lot to be said for the historic qualities and age-old traditions of the humble dim sum cart. It has and always will be a unique and fun experience. I think I'd actually wax nostalgic and cry if they ever did away with them, no matter how rude they sometimes get!
For today, however, wifey and I, along with mom, have chosen otherwise at Harbor Village. The restaurant is reasonably clean and elegant, with rich, mahogany-backed chairs, bright-white walls, modern track lighting, and just enough Chinese paintings and decor to maintain its, well.... "Chinese-ishness."
We were all hungry and dove right into the menus as soon as we got them. I could barely keep up with orders from the two special women in my life, hurriedly scratching them down with the pencil and half-page list of dim sum items provided. Luckily, they also provide separate menus with full-color pic's of the dim sum choices, which makes it a whole lot easier to pick exactly what you want, let me tell you.
The first order was called a "steamed dumpling in soup," which is basically self-explanatory except for the little details, like how large this dumpling actually was. It probably had the filling for three normal sized dumplings wrapped into it. I'm not really sure, but they must've made their own wrapper from scratch, because I don't ever remember seeing one that large anywhere else and it was also the only dim sum item over $5! The bowl also contained some Chinese cabbage and something I would have guessed to be a thin, porous strip of aburage if not for the crispy-firm texture that gave it away. We were eventually told it was bamboo shoots.
That's one big dumpling.
Mom loves chives. She grows some whoppers out there in the yard - the same yard that she always tells me to "visit" once-in-a-while. Yes, of course, mom... Once in a great while, that is (I'm so terrible!). Yes, mom always shakes her head at me, but I always make her laugh so she still loves me. Otherwise, I'd be in trouble.
Anyway, back to the green onion wanna-be's. They were packed into our next dish, a steamed shrimp with chive dumpling. Simple. Perfect. Delicious.
The next dish, a fried shrimp ball that I think got plugged into the shopping center's electric grid, was even more delicious, coming filled with little more than shrimp and some seasonings.
ZZZaaappp!!!
I love dishes with bean-curd, which is a by-product of soy milk and comes in sheets that are primarily used as a wrap for other foods. Both the steamed and fried versions are delicious, and come loaded with shrimp, pork, mushroom, bamboo shoots, and various other items depending on the restaurant. They are also a bit on the larger side, which is important for us local bruddahz.
The last savory item for the day was another classic dish, steamed spare-ribs in black-bean sauce. It may not resemble the same product we see at most Chinese restaurants in town, with the heavy, dark, and very salty black-bean sauce we are normally accustomed to. Rather, the sauce is very light in every way - color, texture, and taste, and more like the real deal, straight from the ports of Hong Kong! This is the only way the natural sweetness of the pork itself can be fully appreciated and respected.
Those with an aversion towards fat will not appreciate this dish, as the meat and fat all seem to melt together into one big (actually, little) piece of pork. It's a little difficult to tell the difference between the two because the pork is still very pink (are you grossing out?), but they are meant to be enjoyed together, anyway. If you are careful enough to take out all the fat, you probably won't have enough meat to fill a spoonful! And that's not just at Harbor Village - that's anywhere. In other words, it's supposed to be like that!
Artery-clogger.
Between the three of us, we really didn't eat that much. With mom's 15 percent senior discount (every weekday lunch), the bill only came out to $32 and change! I figure all that fat I ate was going to gelatinize in my system for a bit too long, so I restrained myself. At great duress, I might add. It's ok - I still have tonight to to make up for any lost ground.... Easy, fat boy.
As we all sat in satisfaction while sipping on hot jasmine tea, mom just had to bring home her favorite chinese dessert, gin-doi. It is made from sweetened, mashed black beans wrapped into little mochi balls, then sprinkled with sesame seeds and deep-fried. I, myself, couldn't wait 'till we got home to have one, and being the only one with room left in my stomach, snatched a piece right there. That's why you see two balls instead of the usual three per order.
Raiding the gindoi jar.
Once again, we had a wonderful meal at this little jewel of a place. I always tell myself to try the house special whole chili crab or lobster, but always seem to go for the dim sum. One day I'll live to tell about the wonderful experience of crustaceans in a thick chili crust, but as for today.....
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